Cooking Eating Storytelling
Beef and Broccoli Cannelloni is classic Italian dish … tasty bolognese sauce wrapped in sheets of pasta under a blanket of golden cheese. This is a dinner that really does appeal to the whole family. Plus it’s loaded with a whole head of broccoli!
Serving it with a salad dressed in a zingy dressing will balance out the richness of the bolognese and cheese.
Enjoy – Blondie 🙂
Gow Gee Silverbeet & Ricotta Ravioli – I have a soft spot for pasta, especially when it is filled with cheese & spinach / silverbeet!
Where possible I do try to make my own pasta dough but there are occasions when time is of the essence! It was a few years ago when talking to mum I found out that she sometimes makes pierogi (Polish dumplings) & other ravioli type things by using Gow Gee pastry. Gow Gee pastry can be found at your local Asian supermarket or grocery store in the fridge section.
So I am stealing her idea! Don’t get me wrong…absolutely nothing beats fresh home made pasta…but when you are pressed for time…this is almost just as good!
I serve this with my favourite creamy pink sauce…my question to you is…what is YOUR favourite pasta sauce?
Look forward to hearing from you!
Bella
Smoked Salmon, Spinach & Feta Quiche – The only difference between a quiche and a frittata or a Spanish omelet is the use of a pastry base. I like to keep the sides of the pastry quite a bit higher to the inside mixture so there’s a crunchiness that goes so well the soft texture of the egg. Also, try making it in a square dish rather than a round one – it’s alot easier to serve up!
This is chunky and flavoursome and is a great partner to a crispy salad with a zingy dressing. It’s a moveable meal so great for picnics or taking over to a friends house. Served chilled and sliced into little squares makes this a delicious appetiser with drinks.
Blondie 🙂
Stromboli aka Stuffed Bread – step by step… Like anyone, I really enjoy pizza, especially freshly made at home but sometimes you just want to mix it up a bit.
Stromboli is basically a pizza rolled up, not dissimilar to a Calzone or the Panzerotti, although the later is fried and they are both folded in half like a pocket rather than rolled like a loaf, which explains the ‘Stuffed Bread’ tag. The Stromboli is a fabulous way to eat pizza and is far more portable… great for picnics!
If you have ‘Pizza Night’ then why not give this a go?
Bottoms up! Blondie
Best Ever Pizza Dough Recipe…This recipe comes straight from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Bread Handbook.
If you have never made pizza dough for yourself then you have to give this one a go. It lasts for a couple of weeks in the fridge, which is great for when making those spontaneous pizza’s after a night out or you can freeze the individual portions, just bring back to room temperature when a pizza is needed. It truly is fool proof. Not only is it a ‘best ever pizza dough’ it makes amazing Indian flat breads or roti canai or stuffed rolls such as Italian stromboli’s… I really should call this ‘Magical Bread Dough’
This recipe has never steered me wrong and comes out with a nice crust that doesn’t puff up too much. If you can, get a pizza stone as this will be the difference to having a soft crust or a nice crisp bottom. Pre heat your oven or BBQ for at least 15 minutes with the stone in, the oven and the stone need to be at the same temperature.
My son’s ultimate pizza is loaded with olives, hot sopressa salami, bacon and fresh basil. Husband’s is with salami, anchovies, and olives and mine would have to be a Tandoori Chicken with raita, cashews and fresh coriander – YUM!
What would your ultimate pizza topping be?
Wild Mushroom Mini Arancini or mini deep fried mushroom rice balls for the uninitiated are such a great food to have on hand in the freezer.
Not only are they a great ‘fast food’ to pad out a salad but they are also fantastic to have for emergency nibbles when friends or family pop around.
This volume makes about 60 arancini but this will depend on how big or small you make each ball. To freeze the remaining arancini you simply take the recipe up to the breadcrumb coating stage and then place them on a lined baking tray so they aren’t touching each other and freeze overnight. You then place them into a ziplock bag till required. Cook them from frozen, do not defrost.
Serve them with a garlic aioli and a harissa paste or similar spicy, hot sauce.
… would love to be serving these out of a food truck. You know what they say, put the wish out there, the dream may come true – Blondie 🙂
Bolognese w/ Beef Liver is a fantastic way to get liver into your diet. If you haven’t had it since you were a kid then now’s the time to try it again!
With two beef livers taking up valuable real estate in my freezer I needed some recipes. My most favourite recipe for liver is the one I had at La Grande Bouffe, which is Sautéed Calves Liver w/ Pomme Puree, Balsamic Jus and Caramelised Onion … Just soooo GOOD!
Then there is the ever so popular Liver with Caramelised Onions and Bacon. Looking for inspiration online didn’t really result in anything fantastic so here is my bolognese with the addition of finely chopped liver. Surprisingly I didn’t find one recipe that uses beef liver in bolognese, they all used chicken liver… it would certainly be a milder flavour, but I feel it can handle the more robust flavour of beef liver.
Again, if it’s been forever since you’ve had liver then give this one a go. Start with just 250g of liver and build yourself up, You’ll love it!
Enjoy, Blondie